Before The End
by jenni midnight
Summary: The world as everyone knew it was about to end. This is a glimpse into Carol's life before it happened.


**SUMMARY:**  
The world as everyone knew it was about to end. This is a glimpse into Carol's life before it happened.

**STORY NOTES:**

I've never read the comics, so I don't know a lot about Carol's history. This is just my take on what it might have been like for her.

**- - : - : ~ ***** ~ : - : - - **indicates a scene break  
**..: ~ *~ :.. **will appear before and after any flashbacks.  
All flashbacks and/or inner thoughts are in _italics_.

**WARNING:**

This does contain rape and abuse by a spouse.

**DISCLAIMER:**  
This fanfic has been written purely for entertainment value, with no money being made from this work. All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners with no copyright infringement intended. The original characters/places/plot/etc. are the sole property of the author. Thank you.

**- - : - : ~ * ~ : - : - -**

**BEFORE THE END**

**- - : - : ~ * ~ : - : - -**

"Get back here!" Ed yelled as he grabbed at the long, dark hair that adorned Carol's head. "You little whore! Did ya think I wouldn't find out what you were plannin'?"

"It's not what you think," she told him, fighting against him as he drug her backwards toward the living room. But the truth was, it was _exactly_ what he'd thought.

"Really?" Ed scoffed. "Janie came home from school and told my brother that Sophia said that she was movin' away. Now why would she say that, Carol? Why would she be tellin' her cousin goodbye if you weren't plannin' on tryin' to leave me?"

"I… don't know," she said softly.

"Do you think I'm stupid, Carol?" Ed asked as he threw her, face first, onto the couch, never losing his grip in her long locks.

"No, Ed," she told him, though her reply was muffled by the leather cushion that her head was being pushed into.

"Good answer," Ed said with a smile. "Why do you do you keep pullin' these little stunts?"

He watched as her tiny hands struggled to push against the couch for a taste of air, laughing for a minute before loosening his hold, just enough for her to raise her head.

"I'm sorry," she coughed out.

"I keep tellin' ya," he warned. "But ya jus' don't wanna listen, do you?"

"Please," she whispered as she felt his hand tighten in her hair.

"Ya just keep pushin' and pushin' and pushin' until you make me do this…"

Carol sucked at the air, knowing that Round 2 was about to begin. But, out of the corner of her eye, she saw her daughter.

"Momma?" Sophia mumbled, half hidden behind the large recliner. "What's goin' on?"

Ed stopped his movements, staring at the little girl. "C'mere and bring Daddy his drink."

Sophia eyeballed the half-gone bottle of Jim Bean that sat on the coffee table and started to move toward it.

"No Sophia," Carol warned hoarsely. "You go to your room right now. Right now, you hear me?"

Sophia swallowed hard, nodded her understanding and then quickly turned on her heels and ran up the stairs.

"Bitch," Ed mumbled as he reached into his right shirt pocket and pulled out the cigar he'd been smokin' on when his brother had called. "Always gotta disobey me, don't ya?"

He shook his head. "Why is that Carol?"

"I don't…"

"Noooo," he coaxed as he re-lit the cigar with his Zippo lighter. "WHY is that?"

She knew what he wanted her to say, but she remained quiet.

_This wasn't the life she'd imagined… not even a little. Not for her and definitely not for her little girl. She tried so hard to keep the girl safe. She'd tried and tried to leave, but somehow, he always found out her plan. The odds always seem to be in Ed's favor, but she kept trying. _

_One day it would work. One day, her little girl would have the life she deserved… _

Ed's hold tightened, jarring her from her thoughts. "I ain't askin' again."

In the distance, Carol heard Sophia's door shut and lock and she gave a small sigh of relief. Now, her daughter was safe and she'd give in to Ed.

"Because I'm a stupid, stupid whore," she said with a whimper.

"Uh-huh," he whispered close to her ear. "And what do stupid whore's have to do?"

Carol felt the tear slide down her cheek and she cursed herself for letting it fall. "They… have to learn."

"That's right," he told her as he pushed her face back into the cushion. "Now… it's time for your lesson."

**- - : - : ~ ***** ~ : - : - -**

It took 40 minutes, 4 cigar burns, 2 bruised ribs and a failed attempt at a "quickie" before Ed passed out on the couch.

Carol sat at his feet; her hair still tangled in his fist, and stared across the room at the wedding photo that sat on the wooden shelf above the fireplace. She barely resembled that girl anymore and she wondered where it all went wrong.

**..: ~ *~ :..**

_She was 23 when she met Ed. He was 26. Her daddy and Ed's Uncle Jack had been the best of friends and had decided to play matchmaker to the "would be spinster" and "down on his luck nephew". Carol had disliked Ed from the get go, but never one to disobey her Daddy, she agreed to one date. _

"_One date," she remembered saying. "One date and that's all!"_

_But, it wouldn't be._

_Jack talked to her Daddy about how much Ed adored her and that was the end of it. She was made to go on another date, and then another… and another. Then one night, two weeks after she'd finally broken it off and stood her ground, she came home to her apartment to find Ed sitting in front of her door, Jim Beam in one hand and a pink carnation in the other._

_She let him in, not wanting him to be on the roads when he'd had so much to drink. She gave him a pillow and a blanket and showed him the couch._

_She woke up to him on top of her, vowing that he was going to make her see how much he loved her._

_A month later she took a pregnancy test. It was positive. _

"_You shamed me, girl," her father told her with disgust in his eyes. "Well, I won't have no bastard grandchild. You hear me?"_

_She had nodded in response._

_Ed's Uncle Jack had looked at Ed and shook his head. "You make this right boy, or I'll have your hide."_

2 weeks later, a Judge in Macon, Georgia married them.

_She never told a soul that when the judge asked for her "I do" and she had vomited at his feet that it wasn't from the morning sickness, but from choking on the words she was forced to say. No one knew, no one ever knew. No one would have cared even if they had._

_It hadn't been so bad at first, just the occasional smack when she'd done something really bad. Then, one night he went out with some 'good ol' boys' to celebrate the fact that he was gonna have a son. He'd come home late, drunk off his ass, and wanted to have some "alone time" with her, not caring that her morning sickness lasted morning, noon and night. When she thwarted his advances, he kicked her (literally) out of the bed. She miscarried the next day._

_There was no "good" Ed after that. _

_Carol had gladly offered up the possibility of a divorce, but that only got her a black eye._

"_NO!" he screamed as his fist met her face. "Baby or not, you're still my property and you ain't goin' nowhere."_

_Another hit…_

"_Baby probably wasn't even mine, anyway," he'd grumbled. "Stupid whore! Gonna have to teach you a lesson, ain't I?"_

_And that's how it went from that day on. Carol wouldn't learn and Ed would have to teach her. _

_It was a miracle she even got pregnant the second time, a few years later. It was by accident, of course, but the minute they laid that precious girl in her arms, she knew… God hadn't forgotten her. _

_So the next day, before Ed's shift ended at the factory, Carol left the hospital and made her way to her parent's house. She held Sophia close to her as she begged for her Momma's help, but she just called Carol's Daddy._

"_I'll help ya," he told her as he stared down at her. "Get the baby and go to the truck."_

_Carol did as she was told, a sense of hope rising up in her. But fifteen minutes later, when the truck turned onto Blue Willow Road, Carol's heart sank._

_She turned, tears filling her eyes. "Daddy?"_

He wouldn't look at her, just tightened his grip on the old steering wheel and kept driving.

"_Daddy, please?"_

_But, he never said a word until he stopped in front of the small two-story house where Ed now stood in the yard._

_He hopped out and waved his hand at an already angered Ed. "Now, don't be mad, son. Carol was wantin' to surprise you and be here with the babe before you made it home from work. But, I got to talkin' and reminiscin' with her about when she was a youngin' and time just got away from me."_

_Carol scooted out of the truck, holding Sophia close to her chest._

"_Is that right?" Ed asked, moving to take a look at his wife and daughter._

_Carol gave him a nod as she bit at the corner of her lip. _

"_Well, I guess I can't be mad at ya then, old man. After all, she was yours first."_

"_That she was," her dad said as he smiled, never glancing in her direction again. _

"_Well, I best be heading back. Y'all take care. Maybe we'll have supper together on Sunday."_

"_Maybe," Ed said smiling as he watched the older man get back in his truck and drive away._

_Carol watched too, never saying a word, just watching her hope drive away in an old blue pickup truck._

"_Get inside," Ed told her, the softness in his tone long gone._

_Carol turned and headed inside, her words still fighting to find a voice._

**..: ~ *~ :..**

Carol felt Ed's hand loosen from her hair when he turned in his sleep on the couch. Slowly, she eased herself up from the floor and hobbled up the stairs.

"Let me in, Sophia," she whispered against the wooden door as she gave a faint knock.

Not even 5 seconds later, Carol heard the lock turn and watched as Sophia greeted her with a hug. She winced at the contact and Sophia pulled away in an instant.

"Momma, you're hurt."

"It's okay baby," she soothed. "I just need a bath and I'll be good as new."

"You sure?"

"Yep."

"But Daddy was…"

"Daddy was just being silly," she interrupted. "You know how he is when he's been drinking."

Carol sighed. "Sophia, you know how I told you we were leaving?"

"Yeah! Are we doing it now?"

"No, honey. It's gonna take a little longer than I thought."

"Why?"

"Daddy…" She hated even saying it aloud. "Found out our little secret."

"But how?" Sophia asked, tears wetting her cheeks.

"Doesn't matter now."

"But, Momma…"

"But Momma, nothin'," Carol countered. "No use in frettin' over it tonight. Besides, you got school tomorrow, so you best get to bed."

Sophia nodded and let Carol lead her to the bed to tuck her in.

"I love you Sophia," Carol said softly before placing a kiss on her daughter's forehead.

"I love you more." Sophia teased.

"Never." Carol told her as she walked to the door and turned off the light. "Never."

**- - : - : ~ ***** ~ : - : - -**

Carol stood in front of the medicine cabinet, searching inside for some kind of pain reliever. It was something she learned long ago to keep in stock. Well, that and antibiotic cream. She frowned as she tried to mend the cigar burns that now littered her left shoulder. The alcohol stung like a bitch, but it was much better than trying to go to a hospital for help. So, she bit her lip and poured the liquid over the fresh wounds.

When the mending was done, she didn't move from the mirror as she finally took a good, hard look at herself. Her blue eyes were blood shot and old bruises were fading while new ones were beginning to show. And her hair…

Carol's trembling hand went to her hair then and she smoothed some of locks away to reveal a bald spot along with a pretty good gash. She knew if she looked, there'd still be a mighty hefty chunk of her hair still wrapped in Ed's fist; even as he slept.

She frowned. She knew she was never really a looker, but she'd always prided herself on her hair. No one knew that 2 years into her marriage, she'd gone gray and now had to rely on d.i.y. hair kits to "look her age". What once was the only thing that made her feel even remotely pretty was now used against her on a regular basis. It was just another way to hold her down… like tonight.

"It won't happen again," she mumbled, a look of determination on her face, as she looked down at Ed's hair clippers that she'd hunted up before entering the bathroom.

It didn't take but a minute to plug it in, select the number on the blade guard and turn it on; the familiar "buzzing" echoing throughout the room.

She swallowed hard as she took the first swipe at her hair, watching as the mid-back length hair submitted to the blade's assaults and fell to the floor at her feet. Another swipe… this time taking extra care when she neared the fresh gash on her head. Another swipe and then another until nothing remained but about a quarter of an inch of spiky gray-brown hair.

"Grab a hold of _that_ you bastard," she said smugly as she ran her hand across the baby soft hair.

She grinned slightly, that old Demi Moore movie coming to mind. What was it called? Oh! G.I. Jane!

"Yeah, that's me alright," she said with a smirk. "Minus the hot body and sexy voice."

She turned then, brushing the hair off her body before turning on the water in the old claw foot bathtub. Her small hand reached up to turn the radio on that sat on the wooden stool by the tub just before she sank into the hot, soapy water.

Right now she just wanted to ease her aches and pains and take a moment to forget. That's all… just a moment to forget. And just as she was about to fall asleep, the warm water lulling her to sleep as she listened to "Out of Tears" by The Rolling Stones, she heard the news break in.

"This is 103, the station you can count on for all the latest music and news. Several neighboring counties and states are reporting some kind of outbreak. For your protection, authorities are asking for everyone to please stay inside yours homes, with windows and doors locked. I repeat, stay inside your home with all the windows and doors locked. This is 103…"

"_Great,"_ she thought as she dunked her head beneath the water, not wanting to hear anymore. _"Now even the radio is telling me I can't leave him."_

**- - : - : ~ ***** ~ : - : - -**


End file.
